The Attack on the Neo Vongola
by Chuninlazyguy
Summary: Tsuna and his guardians have been through many battles, ranging from a small gang in Kokuyo Land to a large organization in the future. After all this, Tsuna began the Neo Vongola alongside his guardians. They each found love and had children, the ones to succeed them. However, an opposing family attacks them and wants to ensures that the Neo Vongola don't have a second generation.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It all began in Japan, the creation of the Neo Vongola under the rule of Tsunayoshi Sawada. Tsuna and his guardians all fought against enemies in the past, becoming stronger with each encounter. But when the Arcobaleno battles ended, it seemed that everything had become peaceful. Tsuna and his friends didn't see a reason to fight anymore, although, as expected of Reborn, he kept their training up and made sure they didn't slack, especially Tsuna, who was expected to bring a new mafia family into power.

The years flew by, everyone continuing their training and having things become a bit more complicated, what with romance and family issues being resolved. Tsuna finally announced his love to Kyoko, Haru falling for someone else, a certain white-haired man who has a thing for explosions. Of course, that doesn't mean the other guardians didn't find such a thing. They all find someone, became romantically involved, and finally tied the knot. However, even with a seemingly normal life, they could not forget their duties to the Neo Vongola. With their unity and friendship binding them together, they all worked to make the Neo Vongola a powerful mafia family, but more importantly, keeping their own family safe.

As they continued their new lives, love eventually blossomed to new life, if that's the correct cycle anyways. One by one, the Guardians were becoming parents, each to their own ball of wonder that made the family only that much stronger. The family made sure that their children would have the bond that they shared, even Hibari's child, even if he were against large groups. The children grew up, they played with one another, and they became reliant on one another, not just as friends, but also as future guardians that would one day succeed their parents.

The children grew up slowly, but that was in their perspective. In their parents' eyes, they were growing up much too fast. When they finally became old enough, the children began their training, their parents showing them the ropes behind the flames that they inherited, although all used a different method than the other. Tsuna was teaching his son the basics of controlling his inherent Sky Flames. Gokudera lectured his son about the many different chemical reactions that could be created for bombs and about marksmanship, but most importantly, how he should never leave the boss' side. His ability to explain hadn't changed at all in the years, but what did was the recipient, a boy as bright as his father. Yamamoto began training his son the way of the sword, much like his father did when he was younger. Hibari taught his son the only thing he knew how to do, fight. Chrome was showing her daughter the beauty of illusions and the wonders they can create, hoping she could use them to protect the family. Ryohei obviously trained his son in boxing in the most extreme way that he could. Lastly, Lambo's son was just like his father, the two a bit too crazy for their own good. They each trained to better themselves, hoping to become stronger, not only for the Vongola, but for their family as well.

It was nearing Sukai's, Tsuna's son's, 16th birthday. On this day, he and his guardians, all of a bit of varying age, were to become the successors of the Neo Vongola, Sukai becoming the Neo Vongola Secondo and his childhood friends becoming his guardians. He takes after his father in many ways, as do most of the future Guardians, save for Norio Hibari, as he is a bit more social than his father. In any case, they were set to inherit their family's will, but not all goes according to plan. As the Neo Vongola were rising in power, another family was doing the same, but in their case, at a much more rapid level. They easily contested the Vongola Rings with their own, and soon enough, they attacked Tsuna and his guardians. Nobody expected this, no one could have. The only thing Tsuna and his friends could do was to save their children. Giving them the Vongola Rings that catered to their own abilities and specializations, they were given a chance to escape, a chance that their parents' had given up for them. It was heart wrenching, but all they could do was flee. Now, hidden away for the time being, they must find a way to save their parents. Forget succeeding the Neo Vongola, their parents were in danger. Sukai, frightened by the events, has to become a leader, the Secondo that will defeat their new enemy.


	2. The Second Family's Resolve

**The Second Family's Resolve**

Sukai Sawada, the future Secondo to the Neo Vongola, and his guardians ran from the mansion that they called home in order to escape the attacks of the mysterious family that attacked them. Nobody knew about them, so an attack of that scale was unprecedented. Tsuna and his guardians couldn't escape, but they made sure that their children did. Luckily for them, they escaped unnoticed, at least for the time being. It wouldn't be long before they were found out, and that would mean having to fight against those who were stronger, something none of them were prepared for.

The small group of teens ran through the garden section of the estate, hoping to avoid detection by using the large hedges as cover. Annalise Dokuro tried her best to hide the group, using her Mist Flames to shroud them. It wasn't easy or simple, but at least it worked enough to sneak away. Sukai frantically looked around, worried that there would be henchmen to find them, most likely more experienced in dealing with such illusions. Arashi Gokudera was right by his side, a pistol in hand. He would never let anyone harm Sukai, much like his father did with Tsuna. The others were just as cautious, Ame Yamamoto glaring at his surroundings for any enemies, Raiden Bovino glancing every which way in a state of fright, Norio holding his chains in hand, and Taiyō just holding his hands to his face, ready to punch someone who gets in their way.

Together and slowly, they found their way out of the garden and through the back gates, into the streets of Italy, checking both sides to ensure that they were safe. At that point, Annalise had to drop her illusion, the shroud taking too much of her Flames. She slowly fell to the floor on her knees, breathing heavily from the exhaustion. Sukai, worried about his friend, knelt down to her, holding his arms around her and scared that he would hurt her.

"Are you okay Annalise?" The worry in his voice was evident to everyone, but they had no time for such a thing.

"I'm fine Sukai. I just overexerted myself." She placed her hands on the ground and tried to push herself back to her feet, but it didn't work as well as she hoped, stumbling down and landing on her butt. It was Taiyō that spoke this time.

"You're fine my butt Annalise. Look, we don't have time for this." He crouched down and picked Annalise up, putting her in piggyback position.

"Ta-Taiyō!" she whispered vehemently. She didn't want to be the one who dragged the team down, especially being the only girl of the Guardians.

"He is right," Arashi stated calmly. "There isn't any time for a break. We need to get going."

Annalise simply frowned and looked down, letting her exhaustion take over as she slumped her head onto Taiyō's right shoulder. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry Annalise. You did more than enough," Sukai stated. Taiyō nodded in agreement, carrying the small girl as they hurried down the street. However, it wasn't long until a car skidded from the corner, its engine roaring as it drove down the street.

"Damn it. Get out of the way!" Norio commanded as Arashi grabbed Sukai's wrist and pulled him to the sidewalk, each of them following the eldest Guardian as they ran opposite of the car. The engine revved as tires screeched against the pavement and the metallic monster chased the group. The car roared toward the running group, Norio gripping his chains tightly and throwing one end of it toward the car, pumping Cloud Flames into it to allow the chain to multiply and spread as more and more chains came into existence. He expected a solid hit to the windshield, but what he got was a surprising blast of Storm Flames from the hood of the car.

"Damn! They have Flame equipment!" None of them were prepared to deal with it, save Arashi and Norio, but neither had the power to defeat a powerful blast of Flames.

"Norio, move please," Arashi calmly asked, Norio complying with a strange face. Arashi was known to be a rather static person, but his actions were what showed his true emotions. Gripping the pistol, he aimed it back toward the car, using his own Storm Flames to blast at the car. Returning the attack, the car blasted again, the two clashing and resulting in a cloud of dust. That was all they needed.

"Annalise. Please!" Despite her exhaustion, she understood what Arashi wanted and mustered as much Mist Flames as possible, covering a small area around herself and Taiyō. It wasn't enough to hide the entire group, but it was enough for those two. Norio took the hint and grabbed Raiden and Ame's wrist, dragging them to a nearby bush and forcing them in. The smarter ones of the Guardians took in the idea and executed it perfectly, but even with proper execution, Sukai and Arashi were left without enough time to hide as the car sped past the dust cloud and toward the two remaining boys.

The two boys didn't know what else to do but lead the car away from their friends. By this point, it had already sped past the other Guardians, but it was already close enough to blast a lethal shot at them with their Storm Flames. At the end of that thought, the weapons popped up from the hood, readying a shot at Sukai and Arashi. Once it was fully prepared, it released the shot and flew toward the boys.

"Arashi!" Sukai screamed out, more worried that his friend would be hurt than about himself. The shot would have hit the two had it not been for Arashi pushing his future boss to the side, Sukai stumbling and falling as Arashi jumped the opposite way. They dodged the blast, but the car was quick to react and did a 180 turn, facing the boys yet again. The men inside were ordered to destroy the Neo Vongola, but they believed that killing Sukai would be enough to accomplish just that. Revving the engines once more, the car accelerated toward the fallen boss, Sukai frozen in terror as the car moved closer to his limp body. The headlights blinded the boy, his life flashing before his eyes. He didn't want to die, not like this. He wasn't ready. He wasn't…

In the midst of his thoughts, a shot resonated from the air and the car screeched to the side, spinning endlessly until it slammed into the wall of a local shop, sending large numbers of produce and other products to the floor. Slowly looking up and around, his gaze went over to Arashi, the pistol smoking at the end of the barrel. However, Sukai was still frozen with fear and shock, unable to move much if at all. Arashi, calm as a button, walked over to his boss and extended an arm out.

"Come Mr. Boss Man. You're still needed." Sukai, slowly processing Arashi's words, took his hand and was helped to his feet. It was shaky, but he could at least walk. Looking back at the car, there wasn't any sign that the men inside were stirring, so they were safe, at least for the moment. No doubt there would be more men coming after them, but they couldn't stick around to find out.

"Sukai! Arashi!" The two turned to see everyone else running toward them. Annalise was asleep on Taiyō's shoulder, apparently too tired to stay awake. It was supposed to be a rather happy escape, but Sukai wasn't really happy. He felt ashamed. He was supposed to be the boss, the one who would lead the new generation of Neo Vongola, but he froze when he was needed the most, needing Arashi to save him. It was nothing short of embarrassing. He lowered his head and looked away from the others, not wanting them to see his face.

Arashi noticed Sukai's shame and put a soft hand on his shoulder.

"You alright Sukai?"

"No, I'm not alright," he said as he pushed Arashi's hand off his shoulder. "I'm supposed to be the future boss of the family, of the Neo Vongola Second Generation, but I couldn't save myself from a car. I was scared, too scared to do anything. I-I don't deserve to be-"

Before he could finish, Ame threw a punch downward at Sukai's head, soft enough that it only knocked it down, but hard enough to hurt.

"Owowow!" Ame, what-"

"Listen Sukai," he interrupted, "you don't have to be the bravest or the strongest. You're our boss, but you don't have to do everything alone. You don't see anyone here wallowing in self-pity. Heck, Raiden is as scared as a kitten is when faced with a dog, but he's still going on. You're the only one who's thinking that the whole thing is your fault. I know for sure it isn't! So move forward! That's all we can do right now. None of us want our parents to suffer." At the mention of their parents, the teens dropped their heads, wondering about the safety of the Neo Vongola First Generation.

Sukai, looking at the others' faces, nodded his head, a small tear exiting his right eye.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I-I don't know what came over me."

"Well, as long as you understand," Ame smiled, satisfied with his success.

"Well that's all good and dandy, but what are we going to do now?" Norio asked. "We can't just go back and fight them. We barely escaped from them in the first place."

"That's actually quite simple," Arashi answered. "We have allies, so I suggest hiding out with them."

"I don't think we should," Sukai countered, his thoughts back to the problem at hand. "If we include others, we don't know how many casualties there'll be. I say we find a place that isn't affiliated with any of our allies or the Vongola. Plus, any place that uses surveillance isn't a good place to stay. We don't know how much power this mystery family has."

"Wait, a place with no affiliations or surveillance?" Raiden pinged in. Everyone looked to the Bovino child, mostly curious about what he had in mind. He was usually the one with no bright ideas, but the fact that he actually joined the conversation piqued everyone's interest.

"What do you know?" Arashi asked. Raiden responded by scratching the back of his head, deep in thought before finally answering.

"Well, if we need a place like that, I know the best hideout, at least for now. Dad and I used it for training. It's not glamorous or anything, but it should work. Just follow me." With that, Raiden started running into one of the alleys of Italy, turning back and beckoning the others to follow. They each looked at one another, suspicious about where he meant, but Taiyō broke the spell and followed along, Annalise on his back.

"Come on guys. Annalise needs some place to rest." At that, the others followed, trusting the Lightning Guardian, hoping he was leading them to the right kind of place.


	3. The Man With The Plan?

**The Man With The Plan?**

The Second Generation family followed Raiden through the streets of Italy, mostly going through alleys to avoid detection from their attacker. Raiden couldn't help but move his head like a hyperactive owl, twisting it left and right, hoping to see clear ways no matter what direction he looked toward. Thankfully, it was clear, but he couldn't tell for how long. Annalise was still unconscious on Taiyō back, small breathes exiting her body. After several minutes of wondering, Norio couldn't help but state his confusion.

"Raiden," he whispered loudly, "where are you taking us? We've been wandering for several minutes already."

"Yeah Raiden," Sukai chimed in. "Could you just tell us?"

He looked back, shushing them loudly for fear that they would be heard.

"I-I know where I'm going. It's an old warehouse that dad and I used when I was younger. It's where I learned how to use my Flames correctly and how to use my Lightning Marbles." Raiden pulled out a bag of marbles, his weapon of choice as opposed to the traditional weapon for defense. "It's abandoned and should be safe. Plus, dad left some supplies there for when we stayed long, but I don't know how much stuff is left."

"Well, at least you had a useful idea," Arashi stated. Raiden flinched a little at the remark, but he shook his head and threw those thoughts away. Looking around again frantically, he put the marble bag back inside and turned to lead the group again, his fear obvious but his desire to help his friends much stronger than his meager fear.

At the mansion, Abramo Furfante, head of the mysterious family that raided the Vongola, viciously tapped his foot against the floor. He was very unsatisfied with the report that the second generation escaped his men that even the presence of the current boss and guardians couldn't satiate his thirst for power.

Tsuna and the others laid with their hands and legs bound and their mouths gagged, keeping them from moving much of anything, in the middle of the family room, unable to do anything but stare angrily at the man that threatened their family. Abramo knew of Hibari's hatred for being constrained and had him drugged with a powerful anesthesia, but even then he would still stir and attempt to release himself from his handcuffs. Abramo didn't care though. He didn't care what any of these people would threaten to do. He knew they were powerless at his feet, unable to do anything save their blasted children.

Looking down at his hostages, he turned his attention toward Tsuna, the brunette glaring at him. It wasn't the face of the normal Neo Vongola boss, but his son and his friends' children were just threatened, something he could never stand for. Amused at the meaningless stare, he walked over to Tsuna and pulled down the rag that covered his mouth. The brunette gasped for air, but once he was comfortable again, he glared at the stranger in his gaze, furious at the man.

"Why did you attack us?! We haven't done anything in the mafia to attract the attention of a man of your position!" Abramo only chuckled, which grew into loud laughter. Rubbed a tear from his eye, he tried to calm himself, taking a few minutes to succeed.

"Ohohoh that's rich. I was doubtful that you knew of my real objectives, but my suspicions have been cleared; you are clearly oblivious to my true objective."

"I just said that! Now again, why did you attack us?!"

"Well Neo Vongola Primo, that answer is simple: I wish to gain more power, and targeting your small but powerful family was the perfect way to begin. I'm sure you have some inkling of an idea of what I am after." He couldn't help but stare back in confusion, but moments later, realization dawned onto him, an idea that formed into a concrete answer.

"The Vongola Rings."

"That's correct sir. Now, I'm well aware of the abilities of the Vongola Rings and the Trinisette that it formed with the Arcobaleno Pacifiers and the Mare Rings, but that's not what I'm after. That desire was destroyed after the Arcobaleno's curse was lifted. Still, I believe the rings have a larger purpose than just being part of set."

"Ho-how do you know all of that?" Tsuna asked, his voice shaking a bit. Abramo only smiled back at his hostage.

"I know more than that, but I'll leave that to your imagination. Now," he said, grabbing the base of Tsuna's chin, "where are the Vongola Rings?" Tsuna smiled himself, glad that the children got away.

"Their not with us sadly," he said, smiling at his captor. Abramo, however, grew furious and punched Tsuna, knocking him to the floor. Kyoko couldn't help but scream at the sight, her shouting muffled by the gag on her mouth. Abramo, still fuming, picked Tsuna's head from the floor.

"I'll try this again Mr. Sawada. Where. Are. The. Vongola Rings?!" Tsuna couldn't help but crack a small grin, even in his state.

"Their safe, where even your dirty hands won't be able to touch."

After what seemed like forever, Raiden finally brought them to the warehouse he had spoken about. Like he mentioned, the warehouse was old, shattered windows (although it's not clear if it was like that before or after the Lightning training began) everywhere, litter spilled onto the surrounding ground, knocked over barrels that were empty, the works. When they finally got to the gate, Raiden gestured toward the building like a butler ushering in guests.

"Well, it's not glamorous or anything, but it'll work. Follow me inside." With that, the group, again, followed Raiden inside the building. They entered through the gate that was kept unlocked and walked inside. Inside, there wasn't much to look at, save for a working refrigerator and a few cabinets that was revived with a hard, solid wooden door and clean hinges. "Wow. Even after all this time, dad still keeps the fridge and cabinets clean."

"Well that's all good and nice Raiden, but would you mind looking for a first aid kit? We don't need anyone injured," Taiyō stated, looking back at Annalise who slept on his back. They didn't want to stir her after the illusion she had to keep up for their sake. She needed the rest.

Raiden nodded his head in acknowledgement and went off to look for one, Taiyō putting the sleeping girl down on her back. She looked peaceful, almost like she was glad that she was able to keep them safe for a long time. Taiyō sat down next to her, looking up at the others to see their expressions. However, he shifted his gaze toward Sukai.

"Sukai, what do we do now?"

"Huh?" he uttered. "Oh, right," he said, catching himself. He was the boss of this generation, and therefore he was expected to make the decisions. "I think we should rest, for now anyways. No point in trying to fight back at this point." Taiyō nodded, but Norio seemed unsatisfied.

"Yes Sukai, we rest, but then what? We don't have the power to fight against the attacking family. We don't have a clue of what their after. Besides, all we really have are our weapons and the rings." Upon finishing his sentence, he lifted his right hand, revealing a purple ring that lay on his middle finger. Our flames are useful, but we don't have much." Sukai looked stunned, but mostly, he was confused. Norio was right after all. They didn't have much of anything, especially in power. Arashi though, seemed to want to help out his boss.

"Well Norio, I believe we should try and gather more information on this strange family. If we know more about them, we would be able to find out how to defeat them." Norio pondered it for a moment, but Sukai was the one who voiced an opinion.

"Arashi, we don't have the ability to do that. We can't find out more without an access to their database, which nobody probably has. Heck, even dad didn't know about a family that could rival him and his guardians, so these guys are off the grid." Arashi, however, just wagged a finger at the boss, a plain face conflicting with his gesture.

"Actually, we do know someone who can find such hidden information, although contacting them is the difficult part." Ame, who was silent for the trek, raised his head in confusion.

"Wait. Are you talking abo-"

"Yes I am. The two men that our parents met when they were younger. I believe they would be able to help, considering we can keep them out of harm's way."

"Well," Sukai began, "I hope you know how to get in contact with them." Arashi only nodded, followed by a placing of his hand on his chin, a thinker's pose.

"Yes, that is the challenge."


	4. A Chance at Something

**A Chance at Something**

Sukai, Arashi, Norio, and Ame spent some time thinking about a plan to contact their parents' old friends, Irie and Spanner. The two aided the family in the past and would most definitely aid them now. However, contacting them was the challenge. They couldn't just go out into the streets and use a payphone; that would be dangerous with the enemy patrolling the streets. Besides, none of them had information on how to contact them. Phone, messaging, all of them seemed fruitless without proper contact information. It was frustrating to say the least.

"Sukai, do you know anything? Your dad must have told you something about them," Ame asked. It was unfortunate that Sukai responded with a shake of his head.

"Dad never said anything about how to contact them. I'm sure he spoke with them every once in a while, but that's it. He hasn't said anything other than what they did for the family."

"Well that makes things difficult," Arashi stated blankly. "Maybe the others have an idea." Turning, he looked toward Taiyō and Raiden, both of them sitting next to Annalise. "Excuse me you two, but do you have anyway of contacting Irie or Spanner?" Raiden stared back, confused until he shook his head.

"Nope. Dad never really talked much about them. Probably because he wasn't that old when he first saw them."

"Yeah, me neither. They helped dad, but I can't say for sure how to get in touch with them," Taiyō responded.

"This is getting us nowhere!" Norio shouted. "There has to be something! We can't wait any longer!" They all knew that fact, but they had nothing to go on. Sukai hung his head in defeat, racking his brain for an answer that wouldn't show itself.

They all seemed in low spirits, but that was until Annalise began to stir, groaning softly and closing her eyes more tightly before slowly opening them. Taiyō, the one closest to her, put his hands above her body, a gesture to tell her not to move.

"Don't work yourself too hard Annalise. You're still exhausted from using too much Mist Flames." However, she couldn't up but move his hands away from her and sit up slowly, supporting herself with her hands on behind her, palms on the ground to keep her upright.

"I'm alright, I think anyways. But you guys sure are loud. I heard something while I was asleep, something about Irie and Spanner."

"Do you know something?" Sukai asked. She nodded her head.

"Yeah. Haru told me something about them, but I think it's a little vague. She said something about them being professors or researchers at some university, teaching about robotics and stuff. I don't know how much that'll help, but it's something." When she finished, the others had to process the information a bit longer.

_University professors?_ Sukai thought. He wasn't aware of that fact. In fact, everyone other than Annalise was clueless to that little piece of trivia as well. They were aware that Haru was a part of the intelligence section of the Neo Vongola, but keeping tabs on old friends seemed much more difficult than making sure the Neo Vongola was well informed. Deep in thought, it wasn't until Arashi softly pounded a fist into his palm that everyone looked up.

"Oh, now I know," he stated. However, everyone was still a bit confused.

"Know what?" Sukai asked.

"I know what university their residing in." Everyone just looked at the black haired boy like he was a bit crazy.

"How?" Norio asked. Arashi prepared his thoughts and words before responding.

"Well, they specialize in robotics, so the way I see it, if they wanted to keep in contact and be able to stop by every once in a while, which they've done quite a few number of times, they would have stayed in Italy. And in Italy, there is only one university that specializes in robotics."

"The Laboratory for Integrated Advanced Robotics," Norio finished. Everyone turned to look at him, clearly surprised at his knowledge of the name of the university. Looking back a bit irritated, he saw how confused they were. "What? I find robotics to be interesting. I was kinda hoping to go there," he grumbled. No one knew that little tidbit, but then again, they all didn't know every single thing about one another. It was something that Norio decided to hide, probably because his father wasn't fond of robots, not since that fight with the Mosca he had when their parents were younger. Still, Arashi cleared his throat to continue his explanation.

"Umm, yes that's correct. That university is the only one in Italy with a priority on robotics. If I were assuming correctly, they would be located there. I suggest checking it out first thing in the morning." Sukai nodded.

"Yeah, we can do it tomorrow. It's late and we don't know if we'll have another chance to rest like this. We should all rest and take up shifts to keep watch," he suggested. Taiyō was the first to raise his hand.

"I'll take the first watch. You can leave everything to me." The others nodded, each of them taking a place somewhere on the uncomfortable concrete floor. It wasn't what they were used to, comfy beds with a multitude of pillows and layers of covers, but they had to do with what they had. At this point, it was a matter of survival.

With Taiyō taking the first watch, he stood and walked a few feet away from the group, hands raised and ready to knock down anyone that would barge in. He wasn't going to let anyone harm his family.


	5. Contact and Information (Part 1)

**Contact and Information (Part 1)**

Several hours past, many shifts changed and the Neo Vongola second generation had a somewhat decent rest. It goes without saying that the sleep wasn't pleasant, what with the concrete floor they were forced to lie on, but they caught some Z's and were able to awake fully prepared for the task at hand.

Sukai was the last one to take the shift, looking outside every so often in suspicion that they would be found. Fortunately, no vehicles or men past by their hideout and they could get a move on with their plan, or idea at least. They couldn't be sure whether or not they would be able to find Irie and Spanner at the university, they could only hope fortune was on their side.

After dawn broke and several minutes of daytime entered his systems, Sukai went over to Arashi, crouching down to shake the boy up.

"Arashi." No response other than a twitch of the Storm Guardian's leg. "Arasssshhhii." Again, only a twitch. "ARASHI!" With that, the black haired boy awoke from his slumber, startled but still otherwise expressionless. Looking around, he saw Sukai staring at him, the boss having a bit of annoyance in his eyes.

"Oh, hello Sukai. You woke me up."

"Yeah, that was the point." Looking at the others, he saw Annalise stirring from her rest, her hands slowly lifting toward her eyes to ward off any remaining sleep. Removing her hands from her face, she glanced over to Sukai and Arashi, sighing deeply.

"You guuuysss," she yawned loudly, "I was sleeping." Sukai lifted his hands in an apologetic gesture.

"Sorry Annalise," he whispered. "I was hoping to wake up everyone one by one, but Arashi here was being difficult."

"I don't think I was. I'm just difficult to wake up."

"Well you woke us up too," a new voice submitted. Turning, the two saw Norio rubbing the back of his head, groggy from being woken up in a horrible manner. Taiyō and Ame joined him in his grogginess, but Raiden seemed surprisingly calm.

"Umm, Raiden, why are you so calm? You act like you've been awake for a while," Annalise asked. Raiden nodded in response.

"Yeah, I've been awake for a while. I'm a catnap type of person, so sleeping for too long in one day doesn't do me any good. I've been awake for a good half-hour I think."

"You sure fooled me," Sukai interjected. "But at least now we're all awake. I think it's time we got down to business."

"Aww, so early?" Ame whined. "Alright then." He got up from the floor, the others following suit. With them all awake, they could finalize their plans.

Sukai went over the plan quickly with the others. Since the university was not too far from their current location, thanks to Norio and his knowledge of the facility, they would split up into two groups, one that would search for Spanner and the other for Irie. None of them were sure whether or not they would be together, and this way they wouldn't attract too much attention and they would be able to cover more ground. The group that would search for Irie was Sukai, Arashi, Annalise and Raiden. Norio, Taiyō, and Ame would search for Spanner. It would all go down to luck, but if they could find just one of them, it would give them some sort of information on their enemy.

After the briefing, the teens began heading to the university, taking discreet alleyways and long routes to reach their destination. It took them quite a while, half an hour for a ten-minute walk, but they were finally in front of the establishment, a large archway standing in front of them that read "Laboratory for Integrated Advanced Robotics" on it. It was a stunning entrance, but the campus itself was much more beautiful, trees and plant life surrounding various buildings, bathing them in colorful arrays of beauty. The students didn't seem to pay much mind to the detail, but there were some that were intrigued by the group of teens that entered their campus, some students giving them strange looks while others ignored them, frantically moving to get to their next class or to a building where they could peacefully study or finish their assignments. It was a foreign environment for the Vongola children, but it was breathtaking nonetheless. It was Ame that broke them out of their spell.

"Guys, it's pretty and all, but we need to stay focused." Sukai shook his head, trying to realign where his focus should be.

"Yeah, he's right. Let's split up from here. It's…two thirty," he stated as he checked his watch, "so at four we should meet back here. If either group is attacked, send a signal with your flames. We don't need any heroes." The others nodded in response. "Alright then. Be safe. I don't wanna lose anyone here." Again, they nodded in response before splitting up and heading off. If they could succeed, they could get something useful.

Sukai's group headed off toward the western campus, entering a building that looked like the main building. Inside there were several small restaurants and a somewhat big store filled with merchandise based around robotics and the university itself. It was a bit intimidating for Sukai to be in such an environment where they knew they stuck out like sore thumbs, but Arashi seemed unfazed, most likely because he was as smart as these guys, maybe smarter. Annalise looked around and fixed her gaze at what looked like a directory of the building. It showed the layout of the floors of the building, a key on the bottom that showed the different room numbers and what class was taught there or what store or restaurant was located there. She seemed to be observing it for quite a while until she looked like she memorized it. Raiden couldn't help but let his curiosity get the better of him.

"Annalise, what are you doing?" he asked. She raised her hand in a "wait" gesture, keeping her eyes on the directory. The boys didn't bother her until she turned to face them, a glint of victory in her eyes.

"I know where we can ask for Irie. There's a information desk a short ways from here, so we can ask whoever is there where he might be."

"But why were you staring at the directory for so long?" Sukai asked. Annalise only smiled and tapped her head.

"I was trying to memorize the map of the building. I got most of it memorized, but there are a few gaps here and there. Mom and Haru were teaching me how to memorize anything, but it's still a bit difficult to get everything memorized." The boys stared at her for a bit, Annalise doing a small courtesy to show her pride in her ability.

Once they recovered from their shock, Annalise led the group to the information desk, a young woman staring at a computer while typing away at the keyboard. Annalise approached the woman, a charming smile on her face.

"Excuse me," she softly said, the woman looking up as Annalise stood in front of the desk.

"Can I help you Miss?"

"Yes you can. I was wondering if you could direct me to Professor Irie. My friends and I are visiting him for our parents, but we don't know where he's located." The woman nodded her head and began typing on the keyboard, searching for information on Irie. After a minute, she looked back at Annalise, a small smile on her face.

"Professor Irie can be currently found two floors above here in room 3170. Do you need help getting there?" Annalise shook her head.

"No, we're fine. Thank you very much." The receptionist nodded her head and Annalise walked away to the others. After telling them what she was told, they followed her up two flights of stairs and began walking around the third floor. They examined the number on the doors until they reached what a dead-end. The floor created a circle of rooms, the doors not too far away from one another. However, the room capped off at 3160. The room that Annalise was told was nonexistent apparently.

"Annalise, did you hear the room number correctly?" Sukai asked. She nodded furiously.

"Yes. I'm positive that she said 3170. But, now that I think about it, there wasn't any room numbered 3170 on the directory. We should be in the right building though." Sukai sighed. They were so close, but they were being delayed by the lack of a proper room. It was frustrating how such a small thing would cause a huge dilemma.

"I suggest we go back then. If we spend too much time, we may miss the others," Arashi suggested.

"But we're right here! We can't go back yet!" Raiden shouted. He seemed the most annoyed, probably because he was the impatient one. "There has to be something we can do."

"Actually," Arashi began, "I think there is. Look." Arashi walked over to the wall and placed a hand against it, moving it across the wall.

"What is it Arashi?" Sukai asked.

"Well, I think that that woman knows something we don't. She sent us here when the room clearly doesn't 'exist,' but there's a large gap between the two doors here." He pointed at the doors to the sides and then returned to examining the wall. "If my guess is right, which it usually is, I believe there should be something here, something that is just simply hidden."

"Mist Flames," Annalise realized. Arashi nodded. "Well if it's an illusion, then it'll be difficult to expel unless we get rid of the area affected by it." That's when Raiden raised his hand enthusiastically, shaking it fervently. "Umm, yes Raiden?"

"I know what to do about this. Just step back." The others had a faint idea of what he was going to do, but they didn't have time to argue with him. Hopefully the school would accept some amount of damage. Sukai, Arashi and Annalise stepped back as Raiden reached into his pocket, pulling out the bag of marbles that served as his weapon. Grabbing a couple into his hands, he clenched his fist around the marbles and began charging it with Lightning Flames. The marbles were designed by Giannini to absorb flames and utilize their abilities and return to the one who gave it flames. Raiden was the only one of the second generation who decided to use such a strange tool, but it proved to be a powerful weapon in his hands. Once he charged the marbles enough, he threw them at the wall, the marbles quickly charging toward the wall until it made contact with it, erupting into a burst of destructive Lightning Flames. The Flames spread throughout the wall and eventually destroyed it, leaving a cloud of smoke in its wake. The smoke made the others cough and cover their eyes, keeping the smoke out of their system. Once the smoke finally lifted, the bystanders opened their eyes and saw Raiden looking back and grinning at them.

"So, wanna go inside?" He gestured toward a door that appeared from between the two doors. Sukai nodded and walked toward the door, Arashi, Annalise, and Raiden behind him. The group hesitated a bit at the door, hoping that they wouldn't be subject to a trap, but Sukai gathered his courage and opened the door, a soft creak emanating from the door. Inside, a red headed man sat down at a computer, typing away more furiously than the woman at the information desk. At the sound of the door opening though, he turned himself toward the group of teens that just blew a part of the wall off, staring blankly at them.

"Hey! You didn't have to blow up the wall, but I guess I should say 'hello' now that you're here." The teens stared at the red head, a little bit of disbelief in their eyes. "Well, hello there. I'm Irie Shoichi, associate of the Neo Vongola family."


	6. Contact and Information (Part 2)

**Contact and Information (Part 2)**

As Sukai and his group were heading toward Irie, Ame, Norio, and Taiyō were finding their way to Spanner. At least, that was the plan. In the beginning, Ame was a bit distracted by the women of the campus, veering off to follow a pair or group of girls only to be pulled back by Norio. Norio, however, was distracted by the small robots that a few students had, Taiyō pulling him forward. It was getting monotonous, but they eventually reached a campus directory that showed a map of the entire campus. Norio examined it for a bit before turning to the others behind him.

"So, I don't think we'll find Spanner just by going building to building. We need some sort of clue or it'll take too long." It wasn't the greatest thing to say, but it was an unavoidable fact. Taiyō thought for a second, hoping to come up with some sort of idea.

"Well don't you know anything Norio? You were the one interested in this school," Taiyō asked. However, Norio shook his head.

"I may be interested, but I didn't research too much about it. Remember, my dad has a thing AGAINST robots, so I avoided researching with him around. I don't know much other than the basics about the university." That wasn't sound Taiyō wanted to hear, nor something Norio would like to admit. They were getting nowhere, but Ame just remained quiet, staring away from his two companions. Noticing the strange direction Ame was looking at, Norio eyed him suspiciously before following the gaze, which lead to a group of girls that were sitting on the grass, books open and most likely studying for something. Annoyed, Norio smacked the back of Ame's head with his palm, not caring whether or not it was hurtful or not. Ame noticed though.

"OW!" he exclaimed, glaring at Norio. "What was that for?"

"For not paying attention! We have something more serious to accomplish than looking at girls!" Norio returned. Although Ame didn't seem phased by the words, only giving a small smile to the future Cloud Guardian.

"Oh Norio. Poor, innocent Norio. I think you're missing something very important." Norio just stared back at him, Taiyō joining him in his confusion. Ame, smiling like a mad man, just walked away toward the group of girls he was staring at a moment ago. Norio and Taiyō just watched as he walked away from them, witnessing a strange turn of events: Ame waving at the girls, them turning toward him, lips moving and audible laughter's, followed by a short wave of goodbye as Ame turned back to the others, a large smile on his face.

"Spanner is located in…" he said, trailing off to look at the map, "this building!" Norio and Taiyō looked at the map and saw that Ame was pointing at a building close to where they were. More importantly though, they were surprised at how he got the knowledge.

"How did-" Taiyō began.

"I just used my charm on the women," Ame interrupted, "got them talking a bit, and asked them if they heard about Spanner. Apparently he's one of the girls' professor, so she knew where he would be at this time since he doesn't do much outside the university, so he's always around." Ame smiled at his two friends, pleased with his success at information gathering. Turning toward the building, he raised an arm and pointed out to their destination. "Now let's go." Ame marched onward, Norio and Taiyō eyeing one another before following his lead. They couldn't believe Uncle Takeshi raised a womanizer.

After a few minutes of walking, they reached and entered the building, looking around for an idea of where to go. The building itself seemed dedicated to studies, tables scattered this way and that and people with books and computers occupying them. There was little decoration, but it seemed no one cared to notice such a small aesthetic fact. Inside, Ame informed the others that Spanner's room was 2030, a room on the second floor of the building. They didn't need help finding a flight of stairs and climbing upward, entering the second floor. The three scoured the floor, Taiyō leading and began looking for the room that Spanner would be located in.

"2190…2100…2070…" Norio muttered. He wanted to make sure they didn't miss it and muttering to himself was helpful. After a bit more walking, Taiyō stopped, Ame and Norio pausing behind him.

"What's up Taiyō?" Ame asked.

"This is the room." Looking at the door, Norio and Ame saw the plaque to the side that read "2030."

"Yeah, this is it alright," Norio said. Taiyō looked at the others, nodding before he turned to the doorknob, grasping it and turning it, the door creaking it as it slowly opened. Once fully open, the three entered the room, a dark room with nothing illuminating it other than a bright light in the opposite side of the room. Facing the light, they saw the source was a laptop currently in use by a blonde haired man with goggles on his head, typing furiously at the keyboard. The man didn't seem to notice their entrance though, which was weird since they didn't try to conceal their arrival. Looking at one another in confusion, Norio eventually split from the trio and approached the man, tapping him on his shoulder. The blonde man stopped typing and turned around, facing Norio with a blank expression.

"Umm, are you Spanner?" Norio asked.

"Yeah, that's me. Is there something you need Norio?" The three flinched; they were surprised that he knew Norio's name.

"You know him? What about us?" Ame asked, curiosity guiding him as he pointed at Taiyō and himself.

"Yeah, I do," Spanner replied, nodding his head at the same time. "I know all of you second generation people, at least by name anyways. Same with Irie. So, what do you guys need?"

Irie, wiping his glasses to clear it from all the dust, looked at the teens that stood in front of him, rubble by their feet.

"You guys didn't have to break the wall. I'm sure knocking would have been simpler." He examined his glasses before placing it back on. "So, what do you guys need?"

"Well, before we get to that, can you tell us why your room was hidden?" Sukai asked. "I don't see a reason for it." Irie smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry about that. I use Mist Flames to hide the door when I want to focus on schematics for new robots. Don't tell the receptionist though; she's unaware of the fact," he said, laughing awkwardly a bit. "I'm sorry if it was difficult to see through, but I would have assumed Annalise would be able to see through it."

"Well, I was going to TRY, but Raiden insisted that he could handle it. Don't know why though," she replied.

"Well, I just wanted to blow up something," Raiden admitted. The others, even Irie, looked at him with a look of shame, but he didn't realize such a thing, only thinking they were squinting their eyes for no reason. "What?" Sighing, Sukai returned to face Irie.

"Let's move past the door. Anyways, would you mind helping us with something? It's important." Sukai turned serious, the others sensing it and getting their serious sides to surface.

"I'd be willing to help. Tsunayoshi has told me a lot about you guys, especially you Sukai. He has somewhat high expectations from you. Well, more Reborn than him, but don't think your father doesn't think you can reach high heights." Sukai blushed a bit. He took Irie's words as praise, something he felt that he had to earn through his actions rather than the words of his father. "Anyways," Irie continued, "want do you need help with?"

Getting serious again, Sukai quickly explained what happened the previous night, the invasion of their home, the capturing of their parents, how they narrowly escaped, and about their search for them two. At the end, Irie was surprised, but he grew serious, ready to help the teens.

"We don't know anything about this family that attacked us, but we know their from the mafia because of their use of flames. We were hoping that you would be able to find something out about them, anything that would give us some sort of clue." Sukai watched Irie think for a moment, followed by a quick nod.

"I'll try. I'm not the best at finding information about others, that would be Reborn, but if it's from a database, I'll find something." Irie turned his chair to face his laptop, opening single window and minimizing the others to keep his focus on the task at hand. Cracking his fingers to prepare, he placed his fingers on the keyboard, beginning the dance of online hacking.

The process confused everyone, even Arashi who was more intelligent than the others. As Irie typed, windows popped every several seconds, closing as quickly as they opened and words and sequences that made no sense to them. Irie's fingers quickly danced on the keyboard and it was several minutes of information searching until something the Neo Vongola children could understand popped up on the screen. On it, a document appeared that was mostly numbers and items.

"What is that?" Raiden asked.

"It seems to be a receipt of some sorts, someone purchasing various items from a foreign country," Arashi responded. Irie closely examined the document, looking it up and down in hopes of understanding it.

"The items listed here are a bunch of mechanical parts, something used for constructing robots, but even I don't know what these things build into. It seems whoever ordered these was thinking about constructing something no one's seen before."

"Is there any way to find out who ordered this?" Annalise asked. Irie, staring at the page a bit more, scrolled up and down the document, examining it more closely than before. The cursor on the screen moved slowly through the words and lines, slowly stopping at a signature at the bottom of the document.

"Here," Irie said. "I think this is it. The owner of the signature would end up being the person responsible for the attack, but I can't find anything else out. The signature is nothing more than an 'A' and an 'F' with a line through it."

"That doesn't really help," Raiden interjected.

"Yes, he's right. We need something more," Arashi commented.

"Well, it's something," Sukai said. "Irie, can you find out more about the owner of the signature?"

"I can try, but I can't promise anything."

"Just please try. We need something." It seemed that they were slowly gaining information about their enemy. Maybe now they could take the fight to them.


	7. Furfante's Attack

**Furfante's Attack**

Abramo Furfante enjoyed resting in the master bedroom of the Neo Vongola mansion. His recent conquest allowed him the luxury of doing whatever he wanted within the mansion, especially since the Neo Vongola adults had been locked and kept under heavy guard and surveillance. Preparing himself for interrogating his prisoners, he left the comfortable bedroom, heading toward the room that housed his prisoners.

Furfante marched through the halls, his men speaking with one another in an attempt to locate the children that escaped their clutches. He was a bit infuriated that his men could not find a group of seven children. _They're such idiots._ He needed the children soon, and when he finally acquired them, he could gain the power to rule the world. It was a wonderful thought, one that he kept in mind until he got to the room that served as a pseudo-cell for Tsuna and his guardians. A sinister smirk appeared on his face, his glance moving toward the restrained family. He saw them gagged and cuffed, Hibari especially. He was awake this time, but he was much more restrained than the others, cuffs on his angles and wrists and chains wrapped around his arms that pressed them to his body. Furfante wasn't one to take chances, especially with someone like Hibari.

"Enjoying your new quarters, Vongola?" The Neo Vongola could only glare at the man who enjoyed their torture, anger filling their pupils and hoping to release themselves from their restraints. . "Your children are proving to be quite troublesome. My men are working hard to find them. My men may be idiots sometimes, but they do get their job done."

Furfante looked at his captives, relishing their pain. He wasn't going to let them get away until he got what he wanted. A sudden knock on the door moved the boss away from his thoughts, looking toward the door.

"Come in," he commanded. A man dressed in the typical suit entered the room, a piece of paper in his hand. "What is it?"

"Sir, we've got something." The grunt handed Furfante the paper he held, the boss taking it and reading it over. "This is a report that someone has hacked into our servers and viewed a piece of classified information about the…" The grunt needn't say more. Furfante understand what he was talking about, but Tsuna, who was listening to the two men's conversation, was confused, curious as to what they were talking about. Furfante turned toward the Vongola, the same sinister smile that he entered with reappearing on his face.

"Well, Vongola, it seems that your children are being much too nosy for their own good. I think I'll take advantage of this situation." Tsuna's eyes widened with fury, Furfante ignoring it and turning toward the grunt. "Did you already take measures against this?"

"Yes sir, we've mobilized a group of men when the attack appeared a short while ago and they're already on their way. Apparently it occurred in some university not far from here."

"Those children don't seem to have the ability to find such a minute piece of information, so they must have had some form of help. Make sure that whoever helped them is captured as well, and I expect no failure."

"Yes sir." The grunt nodded his head and left the room, reaching into his pocket to make the phone call to those who were heading toward the university. Furfante, in all his sinister sadism, smiled at the Vongola for the last time before leaving himself, leaving an atmosphere of hatred and a desire for vengeance.

* * *

Sukai, Annalise, Arashi, and Raiden waited rather impatiently for Irie to finish what his search. Like before, windows upon windows were appearing, but this time Irie wasn't giving a satisfied look. He bit his upper lip and continued to type furiously until, after a few more minutes, he was defeated and accomplished nothing else.

"I've got nothing. The mafia isn't known for being open, so finding something more with little resources isn't easy," Irie announced. It wasn't something that Sukai wanted to hear, but they did have something at least, even if it was just a signature.

"Thanks anyway," Sukai said, sighing heavily. It was a let down, but he couldn't feel like this forever.

" Well then, since we couldn't find any more information, we should probably get going," Arashi said. "There isn't much left to do and we have something to go by."

"Yeah. Maybe Norio knows something about places that make mechanical stuff or something," Raiden added.

"It's worth a shot," Annalise said.

"Just be careful," Irie said. "There's no telling when you'll be attacked. If anything, come back here for some shelter. That way you'll be safe to some extent. Also," Irie pulled on the handle of a drawer in his desk and reached in, holding a pair of earphones in his hands, "you should take these, Sukai." He reached his hand toward Sukai, the second-generation boss shocked at what he was being presented.

"Wh-what is this?" Sukai asked. A pair of dark red earphones was being held in front of him, a roman numeral two in black color on the outside of each earphone.

"This is what your father used whenever he would be on an operation with his guardians and they had to keep in communication. He didn't use it too much after the Arcobaleno's curse was broken, but he asked that I make you a pair for when you were old enough. I think now is the best time for it, especially since you won't always be with your guardians. There are earphones for them too, but they're just standard earphones modified to only communicate with you. After all, the boss has to have something to distinguish himself from his family." Irie kept his hands stretched toward Sukai, who, after several more seconds of hesitation and thought, finally firmed himself and nodded, taking the earphones from Irie's hand. Annalise, Raiden, and Arashi were all given earphones of their own, placing them in their ears and looking at Sukai who did the same. "Here are earphones for the other three when you meet them. Take care guys."

"Thank you Irie." With a small bow from them all, Sukai and his guardians left the room, hoping to find Norio and his group before they ran into any trouble. Knowing their luck, trouble couldn't be too far.

Norio, Ame, and Taiyō headed outside the building where they spoke with Spanner. Unfortunately for them, Spanner couldn't get much apart from a receipt that he said Irie had found, giving them the same information that the other group was given. It wasn't much and they didn't like it, but they had to deal with and left with their heads hung slightly.

"This isn't good," Norio muttered.

"And what isn't good?" Ame asked.

"Well, the machinery that was purchased in that receipt didn't look like anything that would be used for a conventional piece of equipment. I don't know much, but I know enough to realize the difference between heavy machinery and microwave stuff."

"So you're saying is that those parts aren't for anything you would see in everyday life?" Taiyō asked.

"Simply put, yeah. I don't know what exactly, but we can't expect anything good."

"Well we just have to find out who this 'F-A' guy is and the rest will be cake." Ame was clearly the voice of simplicity in the group.

"Easier said than done," Taiyō said, a bit discouraged that they would find out more.

The trio headed toward the building in which Spanner said Irie was located in. They hoped that their friends would be there or else it would be just be confusing to have to deal with finding them. As they walked, the three of them reached a small watering fountain, some of the students of the university sitting on the edge of the fountain or on the benches that surrounded it, some conversing and others studying. The fountain didn't really stand out to them, but what did stand out to Norio was a group of men in suited and black glasses approaching students at random and showing them a piece of paper. Being in a state of paranoia, Norio reached his arms out in front of the other two, Ame and Taiyō stopping abruptly.

"Hey, what-"

Ignoring Ame's words, Norio moved back, his arms pushing the other two back as well.

"Hey, Norio. What are y-"

"There they are!" One of the men that was showing the paper to the students ran toward Norio, Ame, and Taiyō, the three of them running away from the man, away from Irie's building and the rendezvous spot. They may have wanted to see their friends, but escaping alive took the top priority at the moment. What could you do if you were dead?

"Stop you three! _Polizia di Stato_!"

"What?!" Taiyō exclaimed.

"They're using the police force as a cover. Whatever you do, don't get caught and don't split up," Norio said. The three ran at each other's side, the men in suits charging up behind them. They didn't know how, but they were found out, and they had to leave now.


	8. Escape the Polizia di Stato

**Escape the **_**Polizia di Stato**_

Norio, Ame, and Taiyō all ran away from the men that used the guise of the police force. Under that protection, they could chase them and "charge" them with whatever they wanted. Besides, who would listen to three teens that ran from the police, and even if they were the real police force, they could risk getting arrested. That would be bad, especially since they were children of the Mafia.

Running past the students, crashing into some as they tried to escape, Ame cursed under his breath, wishing he had his sword.

"Isn't there anythi-" Ame began.

"No, there's nothing we can do right," Norio began, his breath causing breaks in his sentence. "If they're the real police, it would be bad to have assault on us, which would make the amount of people searching for us even greater."

"So what do we do then?" Taiyō asked. He wasn't one to just run away from a fight, especially since his friends were in danger, but Norio wasn't going to let them look like the bad guy.

"There's one thing we can do, the only thing we have to do." Norio, reaching into his pocket, held a marble into his hand, injecting it with Cloud Flames just like he was told. Throwing the marble into the air in front of them, it was a matter of seconds before the marble exploded, a flash of indigo-colored "fireworks" shining in the sky. "There. That's what we needed, a signal to warn the others."

Sukai, Arashi, Annalise, and Raiden, all now equipped with their specialized earphone/communicators, exited the building that Irie was in, hoping to look for Norio and his group. There were heading toward the entrance of the university where they said they would meet up. It was supposed to go as planned, but something else caught the attention of the Lightning Guardian.

Raiden constantly looked around him, most likely because of his paranoia of getting caught, which wasn't all that unlikely. Anyways, he was looking around the campus with a worried look until he saw a bright light in the corner of his eyes, turning his head toward the source to see a lingering indigo flame.

_Cloud Flames? Wait!_

"Guys!" Raiden's sudden shout attracted the attention of the others in his group, Sukai, Arashi, and Annalise turning to see a worried-faced Raiden. However, they didn't need to ask him what the problem was; they only needed to look up slightly and see the remaining Cloud Flames flicker away, a sign that nobody needed time to interpret.

"Norio's Flames! They're in trouble!" Sukai, in all his fright, ran toward the place where they believed the Flames came from, Arashi, Annalise, and Raiden following close behind.

"It was somewhere on the other side of the lake," Annalise said, Sukai running toward the lake that was in the center of the campus. After a few minutes, the four teens reached it and slowed to look around for Norio, Ame, or Taiyō around the edge of the lake.

"There!" Arashi said in a raised voice. Turning and following Arashi's gaze, Sukai saw the three others running from a pair of men in suits, both of the men sprinting at full force, slowly gaining on them.

"We have to help them," Sukai said.

"I'll stop them," responded Arashi. He was about to reach under his black coat to grab his pistol when Annalise grabbed his wrist.

"Are you stupid? We can't fire at those guys with all those people around them!"

"Then I suggest you take over Annalise. You would be perfect for helping them escape."

"We can't help them from here though. There's a limit to how far my flames will go, so we better catch up to them." In agreement, the three boys followed behind Annalise, hoping to get to Norio's group before anything bad happened.

"Hey, you kids! Stop!" The two men were barking at Norio, Ame, and Taiyō to stop, but they had little intention of doing so. The three teens were having trouble dodging the students that were innocently trying to get to their desired location. Honestly though, they didn't really care since they had little time to worry about anyone else at the moment.

"We can't keep running, like this," Ame said, his breath becoming heavy and ragged. Norio and Taiyō tried to keep themselves under control, but they were also starting to feel the strain of exhaustion from running and a lack of good sleep.

"Keep going," Taiyō said, trying to reassure the younger Guardian. "Sukai's group, should have, gotten the message."

"Last warning you brats!" shouted one of the men from behind.

"They're losing patience. That can't be good," Norio said. To prove what Norio said, the men both pulled out a gun, something that none of them could fight against with all the people around. However, at the sight of the gun, the students all began fleeing the campus, all of them seeking shelter within some building to keep themselves from becoming collateral.

The sudden surge of running students made it harder for Sukai's group to navigate safely to Norio, Ame, and Taiyō, bumping into one of them more times than they wished. It slowed them a great deal and it wasn't something he wanted to deal with right now.

_No! We're getting close to them. Please, move out of the way!_

After another minute of difficult bumping and running, the crowd finally seemed to thin out and clear itself, leaving no one around the lake save the teens and the two men.

"There they are!" Sukai saw the Norio, Ame, and Taiyō running around the lake heading for a path that led them away from him and the others.

"Norio! Ame! Taiyō!" Sukai shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping one of them would turn around. Luckily for him, Taiyō was the one who began turning his head, looking for something that would be the source of the shouts. After a few seconds of searching, his gaze landed on Sukai and his group, a smiling appearing on his face.

Taiyō turned to face the two beside him and said something that was inaudible to Sukai, but the message was received that they were here and ready to help.

"Come on, let's meet them half-way," Annalise said, getting Sukai back on track and following the white-haired girl. It was only a matter of time before the seven of them were back together, running in one group away from the men who at this point knew no consequences would come from shooting their guns.

"Annalise, now!" Concentrating on surrounding the large group in Mist Flames, the group eventually began to slowly disappear, hidden behind the illusion of the Mist. However, it didn't stop their pursuers from firing their gun.

They had thought the gun would be a normal firearm, equipped to propel bullets, but they were all wrong. What got launched from the gun was a burst of Storm Flames aimed straight to the ground that the teens stood on. Once the bundle of flames touched the ground, it erupted, causing the Mist Flames around the teens to scatter, revealing their location and holding them at gunpoint.

"You brats. Be glad we didn't blow you up! Now, come with us or we'll use force! None of you will come back alive if you struggle!"

_Wh-what? _Sukai thought. _Just how strong is this family?!_


End file.
